Departmental Telephone Services

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of his Department's agencies use the  (a) 0845 and  (b) 0870 telephone codes for customer enquiries; how many 0845 or 0870 telephone codes each agency uses; and how much revenue was generated by each of these codes for each agency in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Prison Service use one 0845 number but the service provider, Cable and Wireless do not supply information on revenue generated by the 0845 number.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Charles Walker: To ask the Leader of the House if she will list the special advisers employed in her office since 6th May 1997; and what the  (a) start and  (b) end date of employment was in each case.

Helen Goodman: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and numbers of special advisers in each pay band. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 22 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 147-150WS.
	Information on the employment of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and is available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Information Officers

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) press and  (b) communications officers her Department employed in each year since establishment.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport was established in May 2002. Information from that date that is readily available both for the Department DfT(central) and for its agencies is in the table. Some data is not available without disproportionate cost.
	 (a) Press Officers
	The full-time equivalent (FTE) number employed:
	
		
			   DfT(c)  Agencies 
			 2002-03 + (1)12.7 (1)18.0 
			 2003-04 (1)13.8 (1)18.0 
			 2004-05 (1)13.8 (1)19.5 
			 2005-06 (1)14.2 (1)25.0 
			 October 2006 14.2 25.0 
			 1 July 2007 14.0 22.0 
			 1 February 2008 14.0 25.7 
			  Notes: 1. Actuals except (1) which are annual average FTE. 2. + covering the 10 month period from the creation of the Department in May 2002. 
		
	
	 (b) Communications officers
	The Department does not have a 'communication officer' grade. Figures shown are for communication specialists engaged in a range of comms activities, and excluding press officers. The full-time equivalent (FTE) number employed as at:
	
		
			   DfT(c)  Agencies 
			 Prior to October 2006 Comparable data is not available without disproportionate cost 
			 October 2006 39.3 73.5 
			 1 July 2007 35.0 n/a 
			 1 February 2008 43.9 66.4 
		
	
	DfT(c) figures are only for relevant staff working in the Department's Communication Directorate. DfT(c) also employs other communications specialists but numbers are not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The 'White Book' of contacts in Government Departments and agencies contains listings for the Department and is updated twice yearly.

Rolling Stock

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average weight of a two-car train was in  (a) 1985,  (b) 1997 and  (c) 2006.

Tom Harris: holding answer 4 February 2008
	The Department for Transport does not hold information in the form requested. However, the following tables compare the weight of representative two car diesel and electric multiple unit trains built during the period specified.
	
		
			  Build year  Class of DMU  Weight of two car units (tonnes) 
			 1985 Class 156 74 
			 1997 Class 170 90 
			 2005 Class 171 92 
		
	
	
		
			  Build year  Class of EMU  Weight of two car units (tonnes) 
			 1991 Class 456 72 
			 1995 Class 466 71 
		
	
	In the period covered by this question, there has been a general increase in average train weight driven by improvements in crashworthiness and the introduction of features such as power doors, air conditioning and double glazing.
	A degree of caution is needed, however, in comparing train weights as different trains will have different carrying capacities and performance characteristics (such as top speed and acceleration).
	The technical specification recently published by DfT for the Intercity Express high speed train, has a strong emphasis on reducing weight through the application of industry best practice and improvements in track quality.

Admiralty House

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Department took the decision that the ministerial residence occupied by Lord Malloch Brown was to be refurbished and redecorated when the right hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Hull vacated the flat in Admiralty House.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office authorised the minor works undertaken.

Aral Sea

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the impact on the Aral Sea of cotton farm irrigation in Uzbekistan, with particular reference to the effect on the population of Karakalpakstan.

Jim Murphy: The Aral sea has been recognised as the world's worst artificial ecological and environmental disaster. From 1960 to 2000, it lost 75 per cent. of its volume and 50 per cent. of its surface area. Its degradation has been ruinous to the people, plant and animal life in the region, including Karakalpakstan. The degradation has been caused primarily by excessive use, dating back to Soviet times, of the waters of the two main rivers flowing into it, the Syr-Daria and Amu-Daria, to irrigate the cotton fields in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. None of the 20 species of fish once found in the Aral survived. However, a dam has now been built between the northern and southern part of the Aral sea with international assistance from the World Bank. Since completion in 2005, the World Bank reports that the water level in the northern part of the sea has gradually risen and, between 2003 and 2006, increased by 13 per cent. in surface area (from 2,850 km square to 3,250 km square).
	A spillway passing excess water from the northern to the southern part of the Aral sea has been operational since February 2006 and the water level in the southern part is also now likely to increase in the future, though probably only marginally. Salinity levels of both parts of the sea have been reduced over the last two years and several freshwater fish have been returned to the sea. As a result, fish harvests have considerably increased during the past two years.
	According to the World Bank, the next step is to improve the irrigation efficiency of the land in the Kazakh part of the Aral sea basin. Additional waterworks are also planned to restore wetlands and fishing lakes in the delta region. A World Bank project to this end began in 2007.
	Details of the World Bank project can be found at:
	http://www.worldbank.org.kz/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=361869&menuPK=361901&Projectid=P046045
	The Aral sea is an international problem which will require an international solution. In its "Strategy for Central Asia", which will be adopted at the European Council on 21-22 June, the EU commits itself, inter alia, to support the implementation of the EU Water Initiative for safe water supply and integrated water resources management; promotion of transboundary river basin management and regional co-operation and support the integrated management of surface and underground transboundary water resources, including the introduction of techniques for more efficient water use particularly in irrigation.

Falkland Islands: Fisheries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures the Government is taking to protect the fisheries around the Falkland Islands from unauthorised fishing by foreign vessels.

Meg Munn: The Falkland Islands Government exercise responsibility for protecting fisheries around the Falkland Islands from unauthorised fishing. In order to achieve this task the Falkland Islands Government have two maritime surveillance aircraft, a chartered fisheries protection vessel and a satellite based vessel monitoring system. Additionally, a small number of fisheries observers are deployed on the commercial fleet. Their primary role is the collection of scientific data but they also monitor compliance with regulations.

Falkland Islands: Fisheries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what regulations govern the activity of fishing vessels in Falkland Islands waters.

Meg Munn: The Falkland Islands Government licenses commercial fishing in Falkland Islands waters in line with their legislation on conservation and management of fish stocks. The legal and regulatory framework in which the Falkland Islands' fishery operates has been modernised and re-stated recently with the enactment of the Fisheries (Conservation and Management) Ordinance 2005. These regulations are similar to those used in other fisheries around the world where international best practice is adhered to.

United Nations: Sanctions

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1043W, on United Nations: sanctions, what representations have been made to his Department on the appropriateness and equity of the targeting of UN sanctions under chapter VII of the UN Charter on persons within the UK; whether there are reasonable opportunities for the subjects of sanctions to appeal; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received representations from legal representatives of designated individuals seeking assistance in challenging their listing by the UN Security Council or requesting exemptions to meet basic or extraordinary expenses. Important reforms have been made in recent years to the Security Council's procedures for considering such requests, including the establishment of a focal point for receiving delisting petitions by UN Security Council resolution 1730 (2006). This has increased the opportunities for designated individuals to make their views known to the Security Council. The Government will continue to give representations on such matters due consideration.

British Library

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with the British Library on the safeguarding and monitoring of books and other materials in its care.

Margaret Hodge: Most recently, in the context of the comprehensive spending review, both I and the Secretary of State had discussions with the British Library about the financial settlement required to ensure that the Library is able to care for their collections.
	Their excellent settlement includes significant capital funding to build new, high-specification storage for the national newspaper collection, demonstrating Government's commitment to safeguarding the British Library's collections for future generations of researchers.

Departmental Data Protection

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what requirements his Department and its agency place on contractors in relation to audit of personal data and IT equipment.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department requires an annual audit of IT equipment by its outsourced IT providers. This is done on DCMS premises.
	Personal data is audited on a monthly basis by our payroll contractors.
	Secure point to point courier services are used to transfer data between DCMS and its service suppliers. The suppliers are contractually bound to keep data safe and secure, and limit access to personal data while in their custody.
	The Royal Parks Agency does not have formal procedures but exercise caution when sharing sensitive data.

Digital Switchover Help Scheme: Copeland

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1809W, on digital switchover help scheme: Copeland, when the detailed evaluation of the programme to switch off analogue television services in the Copeland area will be completed; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Andy Burnham: Digital UK are conducting a rigorous evaluation of the switchover process in Copeland which they plan to publish around the end of March.

Video Games: Violence

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) people and  (b) under 18-year-olds have participated in the Bryan Review of the effects of video games to date; what percentage of the population this represents; how many people he expects to participate in the Review in total; when he expects the Review to be published; and what plans for further research on the effects of violent video games on (i) adults and (ii) children his Department has.

Margaret Hodge: Dr. Byron is expected to complete her independent review looking at risks to children from exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in video games in March 2008.
	Dr. Byron has engaged a wide range of stakeholders, largely through the involvement of around 150 umbrella organisations. Some of these groups have undertaken their own consultations or commissioned quantitative research.
	In addition, Dr. Byron held two public calls for evidence, one specifically aimed at children and young people under 18, for which received around 350 responses. We expect the review to publish a list of contributors, including details of focus group research carried out with children and parents and discussions with children's boards.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no current plans to conduct further research in this area, although we may reconsider this when we see the findings of the review, if it is deemed appropriate.

Departmental Advertising

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of his Department's expenditure was on advertising in each of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: DFID does not hold a separate advertising budget and we do not hold figures for advertising expressed in financial years prior to 2002-03. The majority of our advertising relates to recruitment advertising in newspapers and journals. Since 2002-03 less than 0.02 percent of DFID's total expenditure was on advertising.

HIV Infection: Children

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to provide support to strengthen the organisational capacity of national governments and civil society working with children affected by HIV and AIDS.

Gillian Merron: The UK Government are working with The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in support of plans for national orphans and vulnerable children and to ensure that they are fully in line with broader national HIV/AIDS plans. Better plans will enable social welfare ministries to meet their own objectives and to co-ordinate the efforts of others, including civil society organisations.
	DFID's funding through public partnership agreements also supports civil society organisations to respond to the needs of children affected by AIDS. These organisations include Plan UK, World Vision and Save the Children.

Departmental Information Officers

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department paid in bonuses to press and communication officers in each of the last 10 years; and what the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest such bonus was in each of those years.

Parmjit Dhanda: For information on the annual aggregate level of bonus payments to all staff, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 11 December 2007,  Official Report, column 541W.
	With regard to bonuses for press and communications officers, it is not possible to disaggregate this information in the manner requested. A number of Machinery of Government changes and recent internal reorganisation has had a material effect on availability of relevant data and there is a further risk that disclosure of payments to a small group of staff could lead to the identification of individuals.
	In Communities and Local Government, bonuses are paid to staff below the senior civil service who exceed against their business related objectives for the year. For senior civil servants, bonus payments are made to individuals whose contribution has a significant impact on the Department's performance across the year. Personal contribution is assessed against a range of individual and organisational objectives.

Floods

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 13 December 2007,  Official Report, column 898W, on floods, if she will place in the Library a copy of the latest regional flood risk appraisal for each government office region.

Iain Wright: Regional flood risk appraisals are prepared by regional planning bodies. It is more appropriate that copies of them are available for inspection at their offices, closer to where those most interested live, rather than being placed in the Library. Regional flood risk appraisals should be available on each Government office website.

Housing: South West Region

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2008,  Official Report, column 2330W, on housing: South West region, what estimate she has made of the increase in dwellings in each local authority area under the Independent Panel's proposals, expressed as a percentage of the current housing stock in that area. [ [Official Report, 26 February 2008, Vol. 472, c. 13MC.]

Iain Wright: holding answer 31 January 2008
	 The following table sets out the information requested.
	
		
			   Total  d wellings as at 2006  Overall net increase in dwellings (number) for period 2006-26 recommended by the Independent Panel in their report on the draft Regional Spatial Strategy  Percentage increase in dwellings for period 2006-26 recommended by the Independent Panel in their report on the draft Regional Spatial Strategy 
			 Bath and North East Somerset UA 73,205 18,800 26 
			 Bournemouth UA 80,973 16,100 20 
			 Bristol, City of UA 176,987 30,000 17 
			 Caradon 39,316 6,500 17 
			 Carrick 42,403 10,900 26 
			 Cheltenham 50,798 8,100 16 
			 Christchurch 22,520 3,450 15 
			 Cotswold 38,108 6,900 18 
			 Dartmoor National Park(1) — 1,000 — 
			 East Devon 61,684 17,100 28 
			 East Dorset 38,313 6,400 17 
			 Exeter 48,296 12,000 25 
			 Exmoor National Park(1) — 400 — 
			 Forest of Dean 34,786 6,200 18 
			 Gloucester 49,445 11,500 23 
			 Isles of Scilly(1) 1,193 100 8 
			 Kennet 33,558 6,000 18 
			 Kerrier 42,621 14,400 34 
			 Mendip 46,086 8,300 18 
			 Mid Devon(3) 32,047 7,400 23 
			 North Cornwall 40,076 13,400 33 
			 North Devon(2) 41,949 10,900 26 
			 North Dorset 29,011 7,000 24 
			 North Somerset UA 85,581 26,750 31 
			 North Wiltshire 55,071 13,700 25 
			 Penwith 32,148 7,800 24 
			 Plymouth UA 111,317 24,500 22 
			 Poole UA 64,032 10,000 16 
			 Purbeck 21,122 5,150 24 
			 Restormel 44,513 15,700 35 
			 Salisbury 49,429 12,400 25 
			 Sedgemoor 47,378 10,200 22 
			 South Gloucestershire UA 105,035 30,800 29 
			 South Hams(3) 41,274 11,800 29 
			 South Somerset 69,660 19,700 28 
			 Stroud 47,711 9,100 19 
			 Swindon UA 82,530 34,200 41 
			 Taunton Deane 46,859 21,800 47 
			 Teignbridge(3) 55,673 10,400 19 
			 Tewkesbury 34,090 14,600 43 
			 Torbay UA 62,211 20,000 32 
			 Torridge 28,362 10,700 38 
			 West Devon(3) 22,561 4,400 20 
			 West Dorset 46,787 12,500 27 
			 West Somerset(2) 17,013 2,500 15 
			 West Wiltshire 54,100 12,300 23 
			 Weymouth and Portland 29,714 5,600 19 
			 Total 1,604,943 569,450 35 
			 (1 )Estimated strictly local needs provision only. (2 )Housing stock data includes part in Exmoor National Park. (3 )Housing stock data includes part in Dartmoor National Park.

Local Government Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 13 December 2007,  Official Report, columns 898-99W, on local government finance, if she will place in the Library a copy of the demographic change modelling which informed the settlement.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	The requested information has been placed in the Library.

Social Services: Finance

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of each local authority in England's spending on adult social care  (a) in absolute terms and  (b) as a proportion of total expenditure in each of the last three years; and what proportion of such expenditure was funded by central government.

John Healey: The information about spending on adult social services, in absolute terms and as a proportion of local authority revenue expenditure, in each of the last three years, for England was published for England has been published in Statistical Releases and editions of Local Government Financial Statistics and I have placed a table showing this information for individual local authorities in the Library of the House.
	The proportion of expenditure on adult social services funded by central Government is not available.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will list the special advisers employed in his Department and its predecessor since 6 May 1997; and what the  (a) start and  (b) end date of employment was in each case.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and numbers of special advisers in each pay band. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 22 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 147-150WS.
	Information on the employment of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and is available in the Library of the House.

Driving Under Influence: Prosecutions

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were prosecuted for drink driving over the Christmas period in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: Data on prosecutions held by my Department does not include the date of offence nor the circumstances behind each one.

Langley House Trust

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons resident at a Langley House Trust hostel and the subject of supervision in the community under court order or parole, have absconded and been convicted of a further offence, broken down by offence.

Maria Eagle: Of the six Langley House Trust residents who absconded during 2007-08, none have been convicted of a further offence.

Energy: Fees and Charges

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the average annual household bill for  (a) gas and  (b) electricity in (i) St. Ives constituency, (ii) Cornwall and (iii) England in each of the last 10 years.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 5 February 2008
	The lowest level of aggregation for average annual domestic gas and electricity bills that is available is at gas/electricity region level. It is published quarterly in "Quarterly Energy Prices", the latest version of which is accessible online at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file43302.pdf. The town/cities specified in tables 2.2.3 and 2.3.3 within this publication indicate which region the bills apply too. Plymouth is used to represent the south west, and therefore incorporates Cornwall. Constituency level averages are not available. This publication also holds national level averages for gas and electricity for England and Wales, but not England alone.
	Average bills vary significantly with the type of payment method used; therefore all statistics are broken down between the direct debit, standard credit and pre-payment methods. The following table shows the average annual bill for each payment type in Plymouth in cash terms since 1998 (the earliest available year):
	
		
			   Plymouth (South West) 
			   Gas  Electricity 
			   Standard credit  Direct debit  Prepayment  Standard credit  Direct debit  Prepayment 
			 1998 312 275 330 280 275 292 
			 1999 306 268 318 274 266 286 
			 2000 299 265 312 271 261 283 
			 2001 297 267 309 266 257 277 
			 2002 312 281 327 264 255 275 
			 2003 322 292 335 269 259 269 
			 2004 336 311 351 270 260 273 
			 2005 387 353 398 308 293 315 
			 2006 478 426 494 162 341 370 
			 2007 554 499 585 395 370 397 
		
	
	National average annual bills are shown in following table from 1998 onwards in cash terms:
	
		
			   England and Wales 
			   Gas  Electricity 
			   Standard Credit  Direct Debit  Prepayment  Standard Credit  Direct Debit  Prepayment 
			 1998 315 211 331 266 256 283 
			 1999 304 268 318 260 251 279 
			 2000 295 264 311 253 243 272 
			 2001 293 266 309 246 236 263 
			 2002 310 281 327 244 234 261 
			 2003 320 292 336 245 235 261 
			 2004 333 309 351 251 239 267 
			 2005 386 353 401 281 265 301 
			 2006 475 425 498 335 310 356 
			 2007 553 498 589 381 347 400

Imports: Oil

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform from which countries the UK imported oil in 2007; and what the percentage of total oil imports was made from each.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 5 February 2008
	Data for the whole of 2007 are not yet available. The following table shows imports into the UK of crude oil by country of origin during the eleven months to November 2007.
	In the 11 months to November 2007 total imports of crude oil into the UK were
	46 million tonnes, with Norway accounting for over half (55 per cent.).
	
		
			  Imports of crude oil into the UK by country 
			  Million tonnes 
			   January to November 2007( 1) 
			  Country of origin  Total Crude Oil Imports  Percentage of total crude oil imports 
			 Algeria 2.3 5 
			 Denmark 0.9 2 
			 Libya 0.9 2 
			 Nigeria 0.9 2 
			 Norway 25.4 55 
			 Russia 5.0 11 
			 Venezuela 1.3 3 
			 Other 9.2 20 
			 Total imports 46.0 100 
			 (1) Data are provisional and are subject to change   Source:  Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Asylum

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the reply of 16 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1297W, on asylum, which countries are included in the category Europe other in the breakdown by nationality of the grant of indefinite leave to remain under the 2003 family ILR exercise; and if she will break down by nationality the number in the  (a) Europe other and  (b) EU accession states categories. [Official Report, 13 June 2008, Vol. 477, c. 5MC.]

Liam Byrne: The requested information is contained in the following table.
	Asylum statistics are published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	
		
			  Grants of ILR issued under the family ILR exercise as at 7 December 2007( 1, 2, 3, 4) , excluding dependants, for specified nationalities 
			  Country of nationality  Total 
			  EU Accession States  
			 Czech Republic 255 
			 Cyprus 35 
			 Estonia 90 
			 Hungary * 
			 Latvia 115 
			 Lithuania 380 
			 Poland 580 
			 Slovakia 80 
			 Slovenia * 
			 Total EU Accession States 1,545 
			   
			  Europe Other  
			 Bulgaria 65 
			 Croatia 360 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 2,460 
			 Ireland * 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 35 
			 Republic of Montenegro 15 
			 Turkish controlled area of Cyprus 155 
			 Total Europe Other 3,090 
			 (1) Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5 (* = 1 or 2 ). (2) Main asylum applicants. (3) This information is based on internal management information. (4) Nationality recorded as at 7 December 2007 is not necessarily the applicant's nationality at the time of grant of ILR.

Departmental Data Protection

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which agencies and organisations have access to personal data held by her Department or its agencies; and which agencies and organisations have been provided with such data in each of the last two years.

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  on how many occasions the Information Commissioner was contacted by her Department to report breaches of data protection security in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many breaches of data protection security there were in her Department or her Department's Agencies in each of the last five years; and if she will provide details of each breach.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she proposes to review how her Department transports data; and whether her Department uses TNT to transport data.

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which  (a) Government organisations and providers and  (b) private sector providers her Department and its agencies use for postal and courier services; which of these have lost her Department's files, documents or databases containing personal information in the last five years; what information, relating to how many people, has been lost or mislaid in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Members to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179W. The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on Departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.

Departmental: Freedom of Information

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of Freedom of Information requests received by her Department have given rise to responses that have been published by her Department.

Liam Byrne: Between January 2005 and December 2007 the Home Office received 7,172 requests, as of 1 January 2008 977 (13 per cent.) of responses have appeared on the department's disclosure log. This figure includes requests received by the National Offender Management Service and Office for Criminal Justice Reform until 9 May 2007 when they ceased to be part of the Home Office upon the creation of the Ministry of Justice. Since the autumn of 2005 the Home Office disclosure log has been maintained on the basis of there being a presumption in favour of publication where information is released.

Firearms: Theft

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) shotguns,  (b) rifles and  (c) handguns were stolen in (i) England and Wales and (ii) each police force area in each year since 1997; and how many have been subsequently recovered and returned to the owner.

Vernon Coaker: Information on firearms stolen, subsequently recovered and returned to the owner is not collected centrally.
	Data on misappropriated firearms for England and Wales is given from 1997 to 2006-07. The breakdown of these weapons by police force area is not available centrally for years up to and including 2002-03; therefore force level data is given only from 2003-04 to 2006-07.
	
		
			  Table a: Firearms misappropriated( 1)  in crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales, 1997 to 2002-03 
			  Weapon type  1997  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03 
			 Shotguns 539 524 395 447 431 423 462 
			 Rifles 193 155 179 200 172 139 129 
			 Handguns 305 270 242 219 167 79 85 
			 (1) .Misappropriated is defined as stolen, obtained by fraud or forgery etc. or handled dishonestly. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table b: Firearms misappropriated( 1)  in crimes recorded by the police, 2003-04 to 2006-07 
			   2003-04  2004-05 
			  Force  Shotguns  Rifles  Handguns  Shotguns  Rifles  Handguns 
			 Avon and Somerset 31 4 1 11 7 0 
			 Bedfordshire 0 2 1 6 12 19 
			 Cambridgeshire 9 4 2 8 0 0 
			 Cheshire 8 1 0 13 3 1 
			 Cleveland 2 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Cumbria 4 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 4 0 2 35 1 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4 4 0 30 7 2 
			 Dorset 9 11 0 4 1 0 
			 Durham 5 3 1 15 3 0 
			 Essex 11 0 0 7 0 0 
			 Gloucestershire 3 2 2 4 2 0 
			 Gtr. Manchester 7 0 13 0 0 0 
			 Hampshire 10 0 8 8 1 1 
			 Hertfordshire 5 0 2 7 1 1 
			 Humberside 19 23 0 4 12 1 
			 Kent 16 11 3 23 1 6 
			 Lancashire 8 1 2 7 4 1 
			 Leicestershire 12 2 0 11 0 5 
			 Lincolnshire 12 2 0 10 1 0 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 0 1 1 0 0 1 
			 Metropolitan 10 11 8 11 0 2 
			 Norfolk 23 0 0 12 5 0 
			 Northamptonshire 21 0 8 24 0 1 
			 Northumbria 2 2 1 0 1 2 
			 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 13 1 1 10 3 18 
			 South Yorkshire 4 0 0 7 0 0 
			 Staffordshire 9 3 2 12 6 0 
			 Suffolk 15 2 0 6 1 0 
			 Surrey 6 2 0 6 3 0 
			 Sussex 5 2 7 17 5 4 
			 Thames Valley 49 16 12 40 18 7 
			 Warwickshire 18 0 0 10 3 2 
			 West Mercia 11 12 10 15 15 0 
			 West Midlands 11 2 1 9 12 1 
			 West Yorkshire 6 1 0 7 2 3 
			 Wiltshire 2 2 1 6 2 0 
			 Dyfed Powys 3 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Gwent 2 1 2 4 0 3 
			 North Wales 8 0 5 0 6 0 
			 South Wales 0 1 0 3 1 0 
			 Total 397 130 96 403 140 81 
		
	
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			  Force  Shotguns  Rifles  Handguns  Shotguns  Rifles  Handguns 
			 Avon and Somerset 11 1 0 2 4 6 
			 Bedfordshire 1 2 0 2 1 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 7 3 0 7 9 4 
			 Cheshire 2 1 0 6 3 3 
			 Cleveland 6 3 3 1 2 0 
			 Cumbria 2 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Derbyshire 7 1 1 7 11 4 
			 Devon and Cornwall 11 1 11 7 8 29 
			 Dorset 1 0 0 2 3 0 
			 Durham 2 1 3 1 0 0 
			 Essex 7 3 3 9 2 2 
			 Gloucestershire 6 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Gtr. Manchester 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Hampshire 22 12 4 8 2 3 
			 Hertfordshire 6 8 2 2 6 1 
			 Humberside 3 5 4 11 20 6 
			 Kent 2 23 0 16 9 2 
			 Lancashire 14 2 1 2 1 3 
			 Leicestershire 1 1 27 7 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire 8 1 2 19 2 0 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Merseyside 4 0 0 1 3 4 
			 Metropolitan 15 11 12 19 22 9 
			 Norfolk 6 4 1 10 2 0 
			 Northamptonshire 11 0 0 6 1 0 
			 Northumbria 7 6 1 14 10 1 
			 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 9 1 1 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 1 7 1 5 3 
			 South Yorkshire 12 4 2 6 0 5 
			 Staffordshire 3 3 5 5 25 4 
			 Suffolk 4 0 0 8 5 3 
			 Surrey 9 0 0 8 7 0 
			 Sussex 7 0 0 8 15 2 
			 Thames Valley 10 7 6 19 7 2 
			 Warwickshire 9 7 0 12 6 1 
			 West Mercia 4 24 11 13 11 1 
			 West Midlands 8 2 1 5 2 0 
			 West Yorkshire 9 2 0 15 3 0 
			 Wiltshire 3 1 0 1 0 1 
			 Dyfed Powys 0 0 0 1 1 0 
			 Gwent 0 0 2 7 0 0 
			 North Wales 1 7 0 4 0 0 
			 South Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 243 147 110 282 210 103 
			 (1) .Misappropriated is defined as stolen, obtained by fraud or forgery etc. or handled dishonestly. 
		
	
	—continued

Identity Documents

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 284W, on identity documents, how many of the 1,222 people convicted or cautioned for failing to produce immigration documents between September 2004 and November 2007 received a sentence of imprisonment.

Liam Byrne: On 22 September 2004 Section 2 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act came into force. Section 2 made failing to produce an immigration document, which satisfactorily establishes their nationality or identity, an offence. It does not differentiate between those who fail to produce an identity document or those who destroy an identity document on arrival.
	Between 22 September 2004 and 30 November 2007 Border Control criminal investigations teams secured 1,222 convictions under Section 2. All 1,222 of these resulted in a custodial sentence.
	The data provided is based on locally collated management information, which may be subject to change and does not represent published national statistics.

Illegal Immigrants

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of criminal justice enforcement efforts against those responsible for the facilitating of illegal migration and the employment of illegal migrants; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) produces an annual assessment of the threat posed to the UK by organised crime, including immigration crime. Co-operation between all UK law enforcement agencies has led to 836 UK prosecutions for facilitation offences between 2003 and 2006 and 735 guilty verdicts. Close co-operational with the national law enforcement agencies of other countries, such as Police aux Frontieres in France, has also led to numerous convictions abroad.
	The Government are introducing a tough new sanction of knowingly employing an illegal immigrant, punishable by up to two years in prison. In tackling the employment of illegal migrants, the Government also concluded that the introduction of civil penalties, of up to 10,000 per worker, was likely to provide a more effective alternative to the criminal justice system for dealing with the generality of employers who fail in their legal obligation to avoid illegal sources of labour. Prosecution is then reserved for those cases involving the deliberate or conscious use of illegal workers. This approach is in line with the recommendations of the Hampton and Macrory reports on better regulation Tough new measures to prevent illegal migrant working, provided by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, will come into force on 29 February 2008.

Immigration

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate her Department has made of likely changes in its  (a) expenditure on and  (b) revenue from immigration arising from the hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games;
	(2)  what provision her Department has planned for the Border and Immigration Agency to manage any increase in demands on its services arising from the Olympic Games in 2012.

Liam Byrne: The Borders and Immigration Agency has set up a programme to prepare for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Detailed financial and resource modelling has not been completed and it is too early to say what resources will be necessary to deal with the expected increase in demands arising from the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.
	The programme is working with key stakeholders to establish requirements and is learning from the experience of past host nations. Its aim is to ensure the efficient passage of participants, workers and visitors coming to the United Kingdom for the 2012 games while maintaining the security of our Borders.

Kent

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds in the form of  (a) revenue payments,  (b) capital grants and  (c) supported borrowing for which her Department is responsible have been made available to (i) Kent county council, (ii) Thanet district council and (iii) Dover district council in 2007-08.

Liam Byrne: For 2007-08 the Home Office will make funding available to Kent county council, Thanet district council and Dover district council from the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund (SSCF), the Young People Substance Misuse Partnership Grant (YPSMPG), the Drug Intervention programme (DIP) main grant, and the Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children Grant (UASC).
	The SSCF is a joint Communities and Local Government (CLG) and Home Office fund aimed at tackling crime, drugs, antisocial behaviour, empowering communities, improving the condition of streets and public spaces, prioritising the most deprived neighbourhoods. The Home Office contribution to the SSCF is paid to CLG who in turn make the payments to top tier local authorities. It is for these local authorities in two-tier areas (in this case Kent county council), to decide on subsequent allocations within the county to local partners and partnerships as set out in local area agreements. In 2007-08 the Home Office contribution to the SSCF in Kent is £1,384,873 resource and £439,002 capital.
	The YPSMPG is a pooled cross-departmental grant, managed by the Home Office. It facilitates better joined-up local planning and commissioning of young people's substance misuse services, in line with the principles in Every Child Matters and enables the delivery of services to be more responsive to local need, by giving greater flexibility in local commissioning decisions. The YPSMPG is paid to Kent county council as the top tier authority and then distributed across the county as per jointly agreed priorities and targets for the development and operation of responses to children and young people's drug use between drug action team chairs, directors of Children's Services and the Government office joint regional team. In 2007-08, Kent's YPSMPG allocation is £1,088,044 resource.
	The DIP main grant is a Home Office grant aimed at getting adult drug-misusing offenders out of crime and into treatment and other support. The allocations to local areas are decided centrally, with input from the Government Offices in the regions, and, in Kent's case, are paid to Kent county council. Kent then transfers the funding to the Kent drug action team (DAT) and the Medway DAT. It is for the DATs to decide how best to use the funding to deliver the Drug Intervention programme across their areas, taking account of Home Office guidance. In 2007-08 Kent county council's DIP main grant allocation is £1,385,981, of which £1,151,373 is allocated to the Kent DAT and £234,608 is allocated to the Medway DAT.
	The UASC grant is for children under the age of 18, who are separated from both parents and not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, has responsibility to do so, and who have applied for asylum in their own right. There is a fixed grant rate the authority can claim per child, and the total claim is dependent on the number of children supported. The maximum grant that Kent is estimated to be able to claim for in 2007-08 is calculated at £4.4 million resource. Payments are made to Kent as they are responsible for managing the UASC grant in this region.

Offenders: Deportation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted foreign offenders were given a payment in return for voluntarily leaving the UK in each year since the inception of such payments; what the total value of such payments was in each year; and how many such offenders had been sentenced to  (a) a custodial sentence of more than 12 months,  (b) a custodial sentence of less than 12 months,  (c) a community sentence and  (d) a fine.

Liam Byrne: The information requested can be obtained only through examination of individual file records at disproportionate cost. The facilitated returns scheme, which relates specifically to foreign nationals serving custodial sentences for crimes committed within the UK, has run since October 2006. In her letter of 20 November to the Home Affairs Select Committee the chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency advised that more than 900 individuals had been removed under the scheme, 75 per cent of which had been removed direct from prison. A copy of the letter is available in the Library of the House.

Offenders: Deportation

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals serving prison sentences of less than 12 months were deported in 2007.

Liam Byrne: The chief executive has regularly updated the Home Affairs Committee over the past 18 months with the most accurate and robust information available on the numbers of foreign national prisoners that have been deported from the United Kingdom. Copies of these letters are available in the Library of the House. The chief executive appeared before the Home Affairs Committee on 15 January and confirmed that over 4,200 foreign national prisoners had been deported in 2007 and she will continue to provide updates to the Committee as required.

Prisoners Release

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many released prisoners were removed from prison to immigration centres in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2007; how many such people were subsequently released from immigration centres; and in how many such cases were such releases notified to the (i) police and (ii) Probation Service.

Liam Byrne: The information requested can be obtained through the detailed examination of BIA and Prison Service casefiles only at disproportionate cost. Those foreign criminals that are subject to deportation action are detained under Immigration Powers upon the expiry of their criminal sentence pending removal or deportation from the UK.

Birthday Cards

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the practice of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions sending messages to people on their 100th birthday was introduced.

Mike O'Brien: The exact information is not available. However, there is evidence that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and its predecessor Departments has been sending congratulatory messages to centenarians for at least the last 30 years.

Child Poverty Unit

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many meetings the child poverty unit has had.

Anne McGuire: The formation of the Child Poverty Unit was announced on 29 October and was established on 12 November. It brings together officials from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Children, Schools and Families who work side by side.
	Members of the Unit have had numerous meetings with lobby, think tank and other stakeholders, as well as attending ministerial meetings. In addition, the Unit held a seminar on tackling child poverty in local areas for local authorities and others, hosted a cross-Whitehall Stakeholder Group meeting, and attended the recent Four Countries meeting, hosted by the Scottish Executive.

New Deal Schemes: Jobseeker's Allowance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether those returning to jobseeker's allowance (JSA) immediately after a period on the new deal are counted as making two distinct claims for JSA; and how the duration of a claim for JSA is determined.

Stephen Timms: The monthly Labour Market Statistics published by the Office for National Statistics treat any claim to JSA after a period on one of the full-time new deal options as a new claim. This is in line with long standing practice.
	We have been explicit, from the start of our welfare to work interventions in 1998, how we would measure the duration of JSA claims. The duration of a current JSA claim is determined by comparing the start date of that claim with the count date for the latest month's figures, which is the second Thursday of the month. Where duration is measured over more than one spell, the duration of previous spells is determined by using the start and end dates of each relevant claim.
	Since the introduction of the new deal, the number of people experiencing long periods on JSA has improved substantially, regardless of whether this is measured using the duration of continuous spells or by adding up the total time individuals spend in unemployment in more than one spell.

Family Practitioner Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects  (a) blood tests,  (b) electrocardiograms and  (c) ultrasound to be available on demand in GPs' surgeries;
	(2)  how much he has set aside in each financial year until 2010-11 to make  (a) blood tests,  (b) electrocardiograms and  (c) ultrasound available on demand in GP practices.

Ben Bradshaw: Many general practitioner surgeries already offer blood tests and electrocardiograms, and some offer ultrasounds and other diagnostic tests, primary care trusts should decide locally the best setting to provide these services to meet the needs of their patients.
	As a result of the recent comprehensive spending review, the national health service will receive real terms increases of 4 per cent, per year over the next three years. This is significantly higher than the. long term trend, and will take NHS funding to around £110 billion by 2010-11.

Food: Labelling

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent to which consumers utilise the nutritional information panel on food packaging.

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency has undertaken four research projects since 2001 which investigated how consumers use nutrition information provided on food labels. Copies of all reports are available on the agency's website at:
	www.food.gov.uk/foodlabelling/researchandreports/
	and
	www.food.gov.uk/foodlabelling/signposting/signpostlabelresearch/.
	The agency's annual consumer attitudes survey tracks consumer's reported usage of nutrition information including fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt.

General Practitioners: Finance

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the level of funding provided to GPs to cover practice running costs changed in each year since 1996.

Ben Bradshaw: The total and change in the level of funding provided by Primary Care Organisations and their predecessor bodies (Health Authorities (HAs)) to general practice since 1996 is contained in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Former  g eneral  p ractitioners  c ontract— i ndependent  c ontractors  t otal  c ost 1996-97 to 2003-04 
			  £ million 
			   1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			 Total spend 2,873 3,033 3,158 3,432 3,624 3,714 4,060 4,623 
			 Annual increase — 160 125 274 192 90 346 563 
			 Cumulative increase — 160 285 559 751 841 1,187 1,750 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: New GMS contract practice based total cost 2004-05 to 2006-07 
			  £ million 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Total spend 6,957 7,734 7,757 
			 Annual increase 2,334 111 23 
			 Cumulative increase 4,084 4,861 4,884 
			  Notes: 1. 1996 to 2001-02 data taken from the 95 England health authorities based on GPs' total reported contract costs. From 2002-03 onwards all data is PCT based. 2. All former GP Contract 1996-97 to 2003-04 Independent Contractor spend includes both combined General Medical Services Discretionary and Non-Discretionary Spend and Personal Medical Services 3. 1996 to 2003-04 former GP contract data taken from the audited summarised NHS accounts of the 95 health authorities and subsequent 303 PCTs for England. 4. The new GP contract was introduced 2004 and is all discretionary only funded through PCTs unified allocations. 5. All spend (2004 to 2006-07) is now based on combined practice contracting routes of GMS, PMS APMS and PCTMS services 6. 2004-05 to 2006-07 Figures are based on the audited returns of the 303 to 152 reconfigured PCT audited returns to the NHS summarised accounts.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: Inspections

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reports of occurrences inconsistent with routine patient care were made to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority by Professor Alison Murdoch in each year of her tenure as an inspector; and how many serious incidents were reported to the Authority. [Official Report, 3 July 2008, Vol. 478, c. 7MC.]

Dawn Primarolo: The definition of the type of incident that would be considered to be serious and, therefore, likely to be inconsistent with routine treatment, was introduced on 5 July 2007 when the 7th edition of the "Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) code of practice" was published. The HFEA has advised me that, in accordance with its policy to encourage licensed clinics to reports incidents, including those occurrences that would be considered to be near misses, it does not disclose the names of clinics that have reported an adverse incident nor the number of incidents reported by a particular clinic.
	The HFEA introduced its incident alert reporting system in 2003, requiring licensed establishments to report any adverse incident relating to treatment services that is potentially harmful or actually causes harm to any person, embryos, gametes or staff. The number of incidents handled has been included each year in the HFEA's annual report:
	
		
			  HFEA incident alert system: number of incidences handled since 2002-03( 1) 
			   Number 
			 2002-03 65 
			 2003-04 79 
			 2004-05 71 
			 2005-06 97 
			 2006-07(2) 224 
			 (1) Numbers cover all licensed clinics that have submitted a report. (2 )The most recent year for which a report has been published.  Source:  HFEA annual reports 2003-04 to 2006-07. 
		
	
	HFEA has worked with clinics to encourage greater reporting, including lower risk incidents and events that are categorised as near misses. This is to ensure that that lessons learned from such events can be circulated to other clinics, so avoiding a repeat elsewhere in the sector. The HFEA attributes the increase, from 97 incidents in 2005-06 to 224 in 2006-07, to more comprehensive reporting by clinics.

NHS: Finance

John Butterfill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to review the market forces factor for NHS trusts; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) continually oversees the development of the weighted capitation formula. ACRA's current work programme includes a review of the market forces factor (MFF). The review of the MFF will also inform the MFF adjustments made to providers of national health service services paid for through the national tariff.
	Only when this work programme is completed will ACRA finalise its recommendations to Ministers on potential changes to the funding formula. Ministers will then look at all of ACRA's recommendations and decide how to take these recommendations into account when making allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) for 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	We will inform providers and PCTs of the changes to the formula, and the revenue allocations as soon as is practically possible after the completion of ACRA's work programme. The aim is to announce revenue allocations to PCTs for 2009-10 and 2010-11 by the summer 2008. The MFF indices applied to providers of NHS services paid for by the national tariff, were published on the Department's website on 13 December 2007 as part of the national tariff package for 2008-09 which is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Organisationpolicy/Financeandplanning/NHSFinancialReforms/DH_081238

NHS: Fire Prevention

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS organisations failed fire risk assessments in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: National health service organisations are required to comply with fire safety legislation as set out in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which came into effect on 1 October 2006. As part of full compliance with these regulations, it is a requirement that a fire risk assessment is undertaken. In their Annual Statement of Fire Safety, the most recently available of which covers the year to 31 December 2006, five NHS organisations stated that they had enforcement action .taken against them by their local fire authorities for failing to provide a proper fire risk assessment within the terms of the legislation.
	The NHS organisations in question were:
	Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust;
	University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
	Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust;
	Liverpool Primary Care Trust; and
	Redbridge Primary Care Trust.
	Information on the number of NHS organisations failing to undertake fire risk assessments in the four-year period prior to 2006 was not collected centrally.

NHS: Older Workers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age was of  (a) GPs,  (b) consultants,  (c) nurses and  (d) midwives in the most recent period for which figures are available; and how many from each group he expects to retire in the next 10 years.

Ann Keen: The following table shows the average age of general practitioners (GPs), consultants, nurses and midwives.
	
		
			   Average age 
			 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)(1) 46 
			 Medical and Dental consultants 47 
			 Qualified nursing staff (excluding midwives) 44 
			 Qualified midwives 42 
			 (1) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes GP providers and GP others.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census. The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics. The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical work force census. 
		
	
	Under age discrimination legislation there is a default retirement age of 65 but, many national health service organisations do not set a retirement age. Most NHS staff including GPs and consultants have a normal pension age of 60 but the average age at which this group take their pension on age grounds is nearly 63. Nurses and midwives who were members of the NHS pension scheme before 1995 have a normal pension age of 55 but an average retirement age on age grounds of 59.

Obesity: Children

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of  (a) four to five and  (b) 10 to 11-year-olds were (i) overweight and (ii) obese in each year since 2005, broken down by sex, as measured by the National Child Measurement Programme.

Dawn Primarolo: No data for 2006-07 is available until the latest National Child Measurement Programme report is published at the end of February 2008.
	The results for 2005-06 are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Prevalence of obesity and overweight among children in Year R, by sex, England, 2005-06 
			Overweight  Obese  Overweight and obese combined 
			   Total number of children measured  Number  Percentage( 1)  Number  Percentage( 1)  Number  Percentage( 1) 
			 Female 145,200 17,800 12.3 (12.1-12.4) 13,300 92 (9.0-9.3) 31,100 21.4 (21.2-21.6) 
			 Male 152,400 20,400 13.4 (13.2-13.6) 16,400 10.7 (10.6-10.9) 36,800 24.1 (23.9-24.3) 
			 Both sexes combined 297,600 38,200 12.8 (12.7-13.0) 29,700 10.0 (9.9-10.1) 67,900 22.8 (22.7-23.0) 
			 (1) 95 per cent. confidence intervals are shown in brackets 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Prevalence of obesity and overweight among children in Year 6, by sex, England, 2005-06 
			Overweight  Obese  Overweight and obese combined 
			   Total number of children measured  Number  Percentage( 1)  Number  Percentage( 1)  Number  Percentage( 1) 
			 Female 115,400 15,900 13.8 (13.6-14.0) 17,800 15.4 (15.2-15.6) 33,700 29.2 (29.0-29.5) 
			 Male 125,400 17,300 13.8 (13.6-14.0) 23,800 18.9 (18.7-19.2) 41,100 32.7 (32.5-33.0) 
			 Both sexes combined 240,800 33,200 13.8 (13.7-13.9) 41,600 17.3 (17.1-17.4) 74,800 31.1 (30.9-31.2) 
			 (1) 95 per cent. confidence intervals are shown in brackets 
		
	
	Due to poor participation in 2005-06, the validity of these results is limited and they should be interpreted with caution. The best available information we have at the moment is from the Health Survey for England 2006, which showed the following for children aged 5 and 10 years.
	
		
			  Health survey for England 2006; Boys/girls aged 5/10, prevalence of overweight and obesity 
			   Percentage 
			  Boys aged 5  
			 Overweight 11.0 
			 Obese 19.0 
			   
			  Girls aged 5  
			 Overweight 13.0 
			 Obese 14.0 
			   
			  Boys aged 10  
			 Overweight 11.0 
			 Obese 21.0 
			  Girls aged 10  
			 Overweight 17.0 
			 Obese 18.0

Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the value was of each grant provided by his Department, its associated agencies and non-departmental public bodies to  (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham borough council,  (b) Shropshire county council and  (c) Telford and the Wrekin borough council in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08; and what grants have been planned for 2008-09.

Ivan Lewis: No grants have been made from the Department to district councils (Shrewsbury or Atcham) borough council. A table showing the grants paid to Shropshire county council and Telford and Wrekin borough council in 2006-07 and for 2007-08 to 2008-09 is shown as follows. The local authorities were notified of these grants in LASSL(2006)1 and LASSL(DH)(2007)2.
	
		
			  Table of grants from the Department to Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin 
			  £ million 
			   Shropshire  Telford and Wrekin 
			  Grant  2006-07  2007-08  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Access and Capacity 3.262 3.306 1.535 1.521 
			 Child and adolescent mental health services 0.263 0.268 0.262 0.267 
			 Carers 0.938 0.950 0.554 0.569 
			 Commission for Social Care Inspection 0.004 0.004 0.002 0.002 
			 Delayed Discharges 0.601 0.610 0.276 0.279 
			 Human Resource Development Strategy 0.221 0.223 0.142 0.147 
			 Improving Management Information 0.131 0.132 0.099 0.101 
			 Mental Health 0.565 0.577 0.333 0.390 
			 National Training Strategy 0.477 0.482 0.307 0.318 
			 Preserved Rights 1.628 1.502 0.287 0.268 
			 Preventative Technology 0.182 0.307 0.083 0.140 
			 Training (1)— 0.023,546 (1)— 0.013,785 
			 Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (1)— 0.035,387 (1)— 0.020,717 
			 Mental Health Act General (1)— 0.020,688 (1)— 0.012,111 
			 Total 8.272,000 8.440,621 3.880,000 4.048613 
		
	
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Grant  Shropshire  Telford and Wrekin 
			  2008-09   
			 Social care reform grant (ring fenced) 0.468 0.259 
			 Contribution to area based grant 4.762 2.586 
			 Total 5.230 2.845 
			
			  2009-10   
			 Social care reform grant (ring fenced) 1.106 0.613 
			 Contribution to area based grant 4.963 2.717 
			 Total 5.799 3.330 
			 (1) Denotes grant did not exist

Waiting Lists: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were waiting for an operation in each London borough at the latest date for which figures are available; and what steps the Government plan to take to reduce these figures in 2008.

Ben Bradshaw: Information about number of people waiting for an operation is collected at trust level, and has therefore been provided for the 31 primary care trusts (PCTs) in London are shown in the table. Latest figures available is for people waiting as at end of November 2007.
	Today waiting times are at a record low; patients can expect a maximum 13 week wait for their first out-patient appointment and a maximum six month wait for an operation.
	Latest data shows that over half of admitted patients (patients who require admission to hospital for treatment) and over three quarters of non-admitted patients are treated within 18 weeks.
	
		
			  Primary care trust  Total waiting 
			 Havering PCT 3,654 
			 Kingston PCT 1,987 
			 Bromley PCT 3,579 
			 Greenwich PCT 2,807 
			 Barnet PCT 3,586 
			 Hillingdon PCT 3,138 
			 Enfield PCT 3,143 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 2,504 
			 City and Hackney PCT 1,651 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 2,664 
			 Newham PCT 2,472 
			 Haringey PCT 2,597 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 1,182 
			 Ealing PCT 3,995 
			 Hounslow PCT 2,312 
			 Brent PCT 3,293 
			 Harrow PCT 2,119 
			 Camden PCT 2,309 
			 Islington PCT 2,487 
			 Croydon PCT 4,126 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 1,420 
			 Westminster PCT 2,247 
			 Lambeth PCT 2,860 
			 Southwark PCT 2,681 
			 Lewisham PCT 2,780 
			 Wandsworth PCT 2,310 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 1,766 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 4,268 
			 Redbridge PCT 2,883 
			 Waltham Forest PCT 2,600 
			 Bexley Care Trust 2,047 
			   
			 London strategic health authority total 83,467 
			  Notes: 1. Figures relate to patients within PCTs in London. 2. Figures by London borough are not available. Source: Department of Health MMRCOMM